Sharp MZ-2000
The Sharp MZ-2000 is a home/business computer manufactured by Sharp, released in 1982 in Japan. It belongs to the MZ-80B lineage (the business/higher-end line of Sharp's MZ series) and is the direct successor to the MZ-80B (1981).
The MZ-2000 features a Sharp LH0080A (Z80A-compatible) CPU at 4 MHz, 64 KB RAM, 16 KB VRAM, and a built-in 9-inch green phosphor CRT monitor displaying 640×200 pixels monochrome — quite sharp for 1982 and well-suited for business applications. An optional color expansion board provides 8 colors at 640×200 or 320×200, but requires an external RGB monitor. Sound is a basic single-channel beeper. Storage includes a built-in cassette tape interface and optional 5.25-inch or 3.5-inch floppy disk drives.
Like all MZ series computers, the MZ-2000 follows the “clean computer” philosophy — only a minimal IPL (Initial Program Loader) in ROM. BASIC, CP/M, and other software must be loaded from tape or disk. Multiple BASIC interpreters were available (Sharp BASIC, S-BASIC, Hu-BASIC, etc.).
The closely related MZ-2200 (1983) is essentially a refined/cost-reduced variant of the MZ-2000, sharing the same architecture. The MZ-2000 was succeeded by the MZ-2500 "Super MZ" (1985), which added color graphics, FM sound, 256 KB RAM, and full backwards compatibility with MZ-2000 software.
This system scrapes metadata for the “mz2000” group(s) and loads the mz2000 set from the currently selected theme, if available.
Quick reference
- Core: MAME, libretro: MAME
- Folder:
/userdata/roms/mz2000 - Accepted ROM formats:
.mzf,.mzt,.m12,.wav,.d88,.dsk,.zip,.7z
BIOS
| MD5 checksum | Share file path | Description |
|---|---|---|
bios/mz2000.zip → mz20ipl.bin | IPL (Initial Program Loader) ROM | |
bios/mz2000.zip → font.bin | Character font ROM |
The mz2000.zip BIOS file must match the version of MAME used in your version of Batocera. You can verify your BIOS files from the Batocera menu: GAME SETTINGS > MISSING BIOS CHECK.
ROMs
Place your Sharp MZ-2000 ROMs in /userdata/roms/mz2000.
Software was distributed on cassette tapes (.mzf, .mzt) and floppy disks (.d88, .dsk). Using MAME's software list mode is recommended for best compatibility.
Emulators
MAME
MAME (Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator) is the primary emulator for the MZ-2000 in Batocera.
RetroArch
RetroArch (formerly SSNES), is a ubiquitous frontend that can run multiple “cores”, which are essentially the emulators themselves. The most common cores use the libretro API, so that's why cores run in RetroArch in Batocera are referred to as “libretro: (core name)”. RetroArch aims to unify the feature set of all libretro cores and offer a universal, familiar interface independent of platform.
RetroArch configuration
RetroArch offers a Quick Menu accessed by pressing [HOTKEY] + 
which can be used to alter various things like RetroArch and core options, and controller mapping. Most RetroArch related settings can be altered from Batocera's EmulationStation.
libretro: MAME
The libretro version of MAME can be used to emulate the MZ-2000. It uses the same BIOS and ROM sets as the standalone version.
Controls
The Sharp MZ-2000 is a computer system with a full-stroke keyboard (JIS layout). A physical USB keyboard is strongly recommended.
See also
- Sharp MZ-80K — the original MZ series computer (1978)
- Sharp MZ-700 — consumer MZ line with color (1982)
- Sharp MZ-800 — MZ-700 successor with enhanced graphics (1984)
- Sharp MZ-2500 — successor, the “Super MZ” (1985)
Troubleshooting
Black screen on boot
Make sure the BIOS file (mz2000.zip) is in /userdata/bios/ and matches the MAME version. Use GAME SETTINGS > MISSING BIOS CHECK to verify.
Further troubleshooting
For further troubleshooting, refer to the generic support pages.
- systems/mz2000.txt
- Last modified: 5 weeks ago
- by wizzard